by Ophelia Bell
When he caught up to her, she was crying.
“Stay away from me, Calder. I’m a maniac. I’m not safe for you to be around.”
“It isn’t your fault,” he said. “If Mother had let you out just once, this wouldn’t have happened. All nymphs and satyrs need sex. We go mad if we can’t get it.”
“It isn’t about the sex!” she yelled, then shrugged. “I mean, it isn’t only about that. She’s right … I want babies. I want an emotional connection with someone. I heard what she asked you, like it was through a tunnel. You didn’t just become that ursa’s friend to use him for sex. You love him.”
Calder winced. “Loved,” he said. “I have a true mate, and apparently I need to figure out how to mate her without mating her … at least your conditions are open-ended. Find a mate and have a baby.”
She gave him a sad smile and wiped her eyes. “Yeah, but we’re both pretty much screwed if we can’t get Mother to open up the Haven again.”
Calder chuckled. “I think we found some pretty good ammunition today, though. Just tell her you tried to rape your own brother. Also tell her that if she doesn’t let you out to find someone you’re not related to, you intend to meld with me and Neph both and keep us to yourself.”
Assana’s eyes widened in horror. “Gaia, no! I’d be banned from every grotto but home. No one would speak to me again! And … ew! I wasn’t even close to sane when I jumped you earlier. I’d have to be even crazier than that to want to meld with Uncle Neph. You two are beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but you both remind me of Father way too much. And did I mention ew?”
Calder laughed. “I’m not suggesting you actually do it. Just make Mother believe you’re willing to. Maybe even shift to your primal form and make a show of it.”
“Hmm. Maybe,” Assana said, a small smile appearing as she pondered the devious plan. “After the Diviner’s attention, I think it’s safe to shed this form again at least temporarily. But promise me if I start to do anything seriously crazy, you’ll control me before I go too far, all right?”
“Baby sister, you have my word. You just aren’t my type, and I’m pretty sure Uncle Neph prefers dragons, too.”
“Oh? Do tell…”
“Another time. Let’s focus on Mother for now.”
When they reached the waterfall, the sun had fully set and only their preternatural eyesight, along with the flitting sparks of tiny sprites, guided their way to the path where they could exit.
At the fork where they would part, Calder pulled his sister into a tight embrace. “I will come get you first thing in the morning. This will work. It has to. Just be ready to put on a good show.”
Assana laughed. “I don’t think it’s a big stretch to pretend you’re a male worthy of thrice-melding with, brother. This dragon of yours is a very lucky female.”
After he was back in the privacy of his quarters, he found a looking glass and stood before it, staring at the huge mandala that now graced his chest. The power of the River was returning in a steady flow, his link to the world outside the Haven growing stronger every second. There was a price to this connection now, however, and he was at a loss as to how he would pay it.
He would have to figure that out soon. In the meantime, he closed his eyes and reached out for the lost thread to his fellow Thiasoi. They were all still there, their states no better than the last time he’d found the connection—but no worse, either, which was good. Sadly, the connection only showed him that they existed in the flow of time, their threads as yet having no terminus.
Before he turned out the lights, he reached out again and found the thread of his mate. Hers was a brilliant gold, strong and unending—a true immortal’s thread, which should have intimidated him, but instead filled him with a fresh surge of longing to truly know her. Then he looked for Nicholas and found the young ursa’s shining silver current easily, its path somehow having converged with Aurum’s so that now the two ran parallel.
He found others, and observed them all for several moments, picking out the places in the flow where directions seemed uncertain—only small trickles at the moment that may yet either dry up or become their own tributaries, carrying the flow of the River forward. His own was one of the uncertain ones, as was his sister’s, and from the look of things, their crossroads was going to arrive very soon, though Calder couldn’t tell what form it would take—only that it was on the horizon.
He only hoped he would be ready when the time came.
Chapter 17
Nicholas
The day they left the Glade, too many things were left unsaid. The trip out was as tense for Nicholas as the trip in had been, with Aurum embracing him on the elaborate design that covered the island in the center of the pool. Only this time he was far from wishing for relief from his physical and emotional burdens.
“Just a few more hours and we’ll be at the portal to the Sanctuary. Are you excited to see your mother?” Aurum said, smiling up at him as he joined her within the circle.
Her excitement was clear, but tinged with hesitance that Nicholas was all too familiar with himself. Their days together were numbered—they always had been—but while staying in the Glade with her, he could pretend there would be no end to the bliss.
Tamping down the brand new ache that had taken up residence in his chest, he could only nod. She squeezed him tighter and he closed his eyes, as much to stop his tears as to avoid the vertigo from the trip out. After a brief warning from Aurum, the spinning sensation began, and when he opened his eyes they stood in the huge pavilion at the top of the mountain, high above the many wood and stone structures of the monastery.
Aurum’s three siblings greeted them. Her sister, Numa, embraced him, pulling him off to the side as she commented on how well he looked.
“You’ve grown your beard back and gotten some color, I see,” she said, cupping his cheek and brushing a thumb beneath his eye. Her eyes narrowed. “Your eyes weren’t so green when you got here.” She raised an eyebrow and glanced at Aurum, who was talking quietly with her brothers nearby. “Looks like my sister’s magic helped more than we had hoped. I wonder …”
Her words were abruptly cut short when the others surrounded them, Gavra and Aodh clapping him on the back.
“You ready for the trip, brother?” Gavra asked, his mood buoyant and his smile gleaming with salacious interest. “I’m keen on finding out if ursa women are still as wild as I remember them.”
“Wilder than your wildest dreams,” Aodh said, nudging Gavra and giving Nicholas a wink. Despite their joking, Nicholas knew both males had been sent dreams of fated mates who were ursa, though Gavra displayed far more enthusiasm about the prospect of finding his mate than Aodh. The white-haired dragon seemed subdued beneath the affected excitement of their trip, as though he were preoccupied by something.
“I’m as ready as I’ve ever been,” Nicholas said. “When will we get there?”
Aodh’s expression brightened at the question. “It will only take a few moments for me to transport us into India, but we can’t drift directly to the portal. I can only take us within about a hundred miles of it. From there we’ll fly to the temple near the portal to rest, then hike the rest of the way. After that, it’s up to you.
“Unfortunately, there is some bad news. The barrier around the Sanctuary has been locked so only Windchaser ursa can make it through unscathed. You have Windchaser blood, so you’ll be fine, but the four of us aren’t going to fare as well during the passage.”
“Can it keep us out?” Aurum asked, the worry in her tone making Nicholas move toward her, but he restrained himself from touching her in front of her siblings.
“It can’t keep us out, but it will take a hefty toll. The barrier draws life energy from all who pass through. It always has. But since the Spring Equinox, Queen Maia has increased its power to provide greater security. Any mortal creature who passes through who isn’t a Windchaser, or hasn’t been given special access, would be killed, their life energy absor
bed to increase the barrier’s strength. We’ll be sapped, but we can make it through.”
“Then the rest of you should stay behind,” Aurum said. “Just take me and Nicholas. He can survive the passage on his own. I’ll shoulder the burden of the barrier’s toll myself—the three of you don’t have to …”
Gavra’s disbelieving laugh stopped her. “Sister, you’re forgetting the stake we have in going in with you.” His expression darkened, revealing a side of him Nicholas had never seen. Gavra’s eyes flashed red, his lips twisting with his words. “There’s no fucking way you could keep me out. I’d pay their toll ten times over as long as it got me closer to finding the mates from my dreams.”
Numa left Nicholas’s side and touched her sister on the arm. “We need to be prepared for the possibility that the ursa may not be happy about our visit. Hopefully they’ll understand that we mean them no harm, and that the gift of our power to their shield is a boon. It will make their barrier even stronger. It’s a small price to pay for us to get closer to finding our mates—my own dreams have shown me a pair of ursa males, too.”
Nicholas gave into his urge to touch Aurum and slid an arm around her waist. “We go together,” he said. “I will speak for you all with my mother, if it comes to it. Since you have helped me, that makes us all family. That should count for something.”
Aurum gave him an affectionate squeeze before pulling away. Her absence left behind an unexpected longing for more contact with her before they parted ways for good. The need was even more acute, now that his body’s pheronesic cravings were gone.
The truth was that the symptoms of his pheronesis had abated only a few days after their tense conversation about Calder, yet neither he nor Aurum had mentioned the change in the days that followed.
Once they’d abandoned their reluctance to talk about Calder, the satyr became the most common topic of conversation. When they made love, Nicholas often imagined his former lover was part of it. He’d taken to describing to Aurum the things Calder might do, and even acting out the part as though he were taking Calder’s place.
It had been surprisingly easy, after all the times he and Calder had melded with Aurum on their minds. Nicholas knew the other man’s mind as well as his own—well enough to know that Calder would enjoy making love to Aurum as much as he did. The satyr’s constant presence, even in their thoughts, must have helped speed the ordeal of his pheronesis along.
That they could have left the Glade much earlier hadn’t mattered to them, because until today, it would have made no difference. But now that it was finally time to go, Nicholas found himself cherishing every last moment he had in her presence.
At Aodh’s gesture, the five of them linked hands in a circle. A moment later, a tugging sensation began at Nicholas’s navel and a cool, rushing weight both pushed and pulled at his entire body. He remembered it from the day when he’d been rescued and brought to the monastery, but it still made him dizzy.
When the sensation ceased, the rushing sound didn’t abate. Nicholas was on his knees, retching and cursing, waiting for his hearing to clear and the dizziness to abate.
“Zhrihiva coro, we are here.” Aurum’s light touch on his shoulder made him open his eyes. He stared down at his hands where they were pressed into muddy, leaf-strewn earth, then looked at her.
Aurum’s golden eyes met his, her creased brow betraying her concern.
“I’m fine. You’re all wet …” he said, staring around at the lush greenery and the others who were equally drenched. Water gushed from the sky and he blinked up in astonishment.
Aurum’s laughter brought his attention back to her. “That’s because it’s raining. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward a stone path nearby that the others were already on, leading through the dense, wet forest.
“Where are we?” he asked, his heart racing with excitement. With every step they came closer to his home. This very forest might be similar to the place he would have grown up, if he had never been taken by the Ultiori as a baby.
“Maghalaya, India,” Aodh called back over his shoulder. “The Rainsong portal into the Sanctuary would be in the wettest place on Earth.”
They walked for several miles, Nicholas peering at everything in wonder. The trees were so tall and lush they blotted out the sky, which continued to drench them with rain. It must still be daytime, but even the dim light from the stormy day had trouble making it through the canopy.
Rushing sounds grew louder and they found themselves at the edge of a deep canyon with a huge waterfall cascading over the edge. Thick vines woven together formed a bridge that extended across it, one that seemed to have grown out of the banks on both sides. Looking down the canyon, Nicholas saw other similar bridges that spanned the width of the river, all of them clearly crafted from the living flora.
They crossed and climbed higher, up a steep stone staircase that reminded him of the path to Aurum’s house inside the Glade. They walked single-file, the path barely wide enough for the three males’ shoulders, branches and leaves continually brushing against his cheeks. Aurum climbed a few paces ahead of him.
She glanced back once and smiled. “When we get to the temple at the top, we will rest for the night. My siblings will need to replenish their energy before we hike the rest of the way to the portal.”
“That’s where our knowledge ceases,” Aodh said, pausing on the path and letting the others pass him until Nicholas caught up from the rear.
Nicholas gripped the white dragon’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I know how to open the portal. The ritual takes several hours, but it isn’t complicated.”
At least, he hoped not.
Calder’s instructions had made it sound like the simplest thing in the world. Trace a path around a circle of stones that would only be visible at the Solstice, and recite the story of your origin. Every ursa child’s origin was built into the magic of the Sanctuary’s barrier, so they would be recognized instantly when they came home.
Bringing guests inside was more complicated, but he had discussed the process with the others, and they had each shared brief details of their own origins with him to be relayed as part of his story. It helped that the four dragons’ birth had been a cosmic event that coincided with the creation of the ursa race and the Sanctuary itself. The barrier might exact a toll from them, but the portal would open, at least.
As he walked, Nicholas silently rehearsed his origin story in his head. Thanks to the ancestral memories his mother had granted him as an infant, he knew all there was to know the geography of the Sanctuary and the portals themselves, though he was still trying to process the recent changes Calder had shared with him from his connection to the River.
Even though they’d had televisions in their cells, those were only good for relaying human news. The satyr’s constant connection to the River was their only connection to the outside world where their own races were concerned, and the River’s information tended to lack context. All Nicholas knew was that things were in a rapid state of change, which included his mother’s decision to lock down the Sanctuary and restrict access to it.
He would get them all in, though. If he could attune himself well enough to the magic of the barrier, could make sure it knew who he was, he hoped he could also influence how much power it consumed from the others. He’d prefer it if they suffered as little as possible.
A soft glow became visible through the waterlogged darkness of the forest as they trudged along the path. The closer he got, the brighter and more welcoming the warm light became until Nicholas sped at full stride, gazing up the steep incline to an old, wooden structure that clung precariously to the side of the mountain.
As he drew closer, he could see the worn ornamental features and flaking blue paint of the temple. Its awkward tilt was misleading, the foundation of the structure a solid, thick bulwark of stone seeming to rise up out of the rocks with only the brightly painted wood somehow appearing to float as if on air.
Soon he dis
covered why—the entire front side of the wall, from the stone up to the wood, was painted with an elaborate mural that depicted dense clouds above a rain-filled sky and the disturbingly realistic reflected water of a pool beneath that was fed from one side by a waterfall.
As they climbed up steps carved from the thick granite of the hillside, a pair of double doors opened above them and a golden light flooded out. All Nicholas could think was how warm and dry it looked inside, and how he hoped it rained a lot less in the Sanctuary.
Chapter 18
Vrishti
Another season wasted in this drowned rat of a hole-in-the-wall corner of the world.
Vrishti lay on her bed, staring out the window at the steady rain that hadn’t let up for the entire week since she’d arrived at the Rainsong temple. She would have to try one of the other clan temples next season, preferably one in locale less prone to deluge. Sundance was in Arizona or New Mexico, wasn’t it? If she had to sit for a week waiting in vain for a Windchaser to want to travel into the Sanctuary, it might as well be in a sunny place.
Tears threatened to spill yet again, one wet droplet escaping her eye. She brushed it away, shifting her mind to the future to avoid the encroaching memories of her last moments with her dying father and the crazy secrets he’d shared. But the future was a giant question mark for her, thanks to those secrets. The little village down the mountain had been her home since birth … except it really hadn’t been, had it? According to her dad, she’d been born in some other world entirely, to a mother who wasn’t even human.
Vrishti had only just gotten her bearings as an adult. She’d spent the last eight years in college in the UK and America, had thrilled at the look of pride in her father’s eyes when he attended her graduations—two of the only trips he’d taken away from their home in his entire life.
